Patient's question:
My mother-in-law is a bit slow-witted. It is said that in the past, due to family reasons, she stayed at home all day, refused to let anyone in, would never spend money, and would never do what she was asked to do. Now, we want to have a child, but we are worried that the baby might also be slow-witted. Could slow-wittedness be inherited across generations?Doctor's answer:
The causes of infantile mental retardation are complex and numerous:1. Genetic factors. For example, if the parents have low intelligence, if the parents have consanguineous marriage, or if the parents have chromosomal abnormalities, or if the parents suffer from certain metabolic diseases, these conditions can pass congenital intellectual defects to offspring, leading to mental retardation in children. If one parent has low intelligence or both parents have low intelligence, the incidence of mental retardation in their children can be as high as 77% to 96%.
2. Pathogenic factors during the mother's pregnancy period. The early stage of pregnancy, from week 8 to week 12, is a critical period for the formation and development of the fetal brain. Various physical, chemical toxins, pollution, radiation, smoking, alcohol, and viral infections are all pathogenic factors that can cause poor brain development in fetuses.